Protective shield for coin box locks and key therefor

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a protective shield for coin box locks comprising a housing mounted in front of the latter that denies all direct axial access to the key slot in favor of a remotely located key-receiving opening at right angles thereto. It also encompasses a remotely-actuated right-angle-driven key operative to open the lock from a position outside the housing and displaced to one side of the axis of lock rotation. The invention further encompasses a push-pin and pivoted lever for actuating same from a remote position that cooperate with one another and with the wall of the housing facing the lock upon actuation to insert the key in the latter.

United States Patent [191 Fowler PROTECTIVE SHIELD FOR COIN BOX LOCKSAND KEY THEREFOR [76] lnventor: Lawrence S. Fowler, 135 Kearney,

Denver, Colo. 80220 [22] Filed: July 5, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 376,729

52 U.S.Cl. ..70/423,70/395 [51 rm. c1. ..,,E 9sb 17 14 581 FieldofSearch70/395, 396, 397, 39s, 7 0/423, 399, 400, 424, 425, 426, 427,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,392,555 7/l968 Beaver70/56 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 416,273 7/1925 Germany 70/399 Dec.31, 1974 Primary Examiner-Robert L. Wolfe Attorney, Agent, orFirmEdwards, Spangler, Wymore & Klaas 5 7 ABSTRACT This inventionrelates to a protective shield for coin box locks comprising a housingmounted in front of the latter that denies all direct axial access tothe key slot in favor of a remotely located key-receiving opening atright angles thereto. It also encompasses a remotely-actuatedright-angle-driven key operative to open the lock from a positionoutside the housing and displaced to one side of the axis of lockrotation. The invention further encompasses a push-pin and pivoted leverfor actuating same from a remote position that cooperate with oneanother and with the wall of the housing facing the lock upon actuationto insert the key in the latter.

19 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PROTECTIVE SHIELD FOR COIN BOX LOCKS ANDKEY THEREFOR Literally millions of coin operated vending machines are ineveryday use, a high proportion of which are made available to thegeneral public and left unattended. Many dispense products while othersdispense services such as, for example, pay telephones, washing machinesand clothes dryers. In contrast to most of the coin-operated productdispensers which are out in the open and generally under more or lessconstant public surveilance, laundry machines are quite often tuckedaway in a basement room of a small apartment house or the like where afew people at most are around and, oftentimes, no one at all. It is tothe latter type of coinoperated vending machine that the instantinvention is particularly well suited although it is by no means limitedto such use.

The owners of coin-operated laundry and dry cleaning equipment suffertremendous financial losses due to theft, much of which goes undetected.The thief rarely forcibly enters the coin box and empties same, butinstead, opens the lock in a few seconds with a lock pick and takes onlypart of the money in the coin box before restoring it to its originallocked condition. Since the operator has no practical way of monitoringthe use of the machine, he may never realize that this equipment hasbeen burglarized, especially when a clever thief leaves enough money toavoid any suspicion that it has been tampered with. For obvious reasons,no accurate information is available on the magnitude of this problem,but the best estimates place it in the millions of dollars annually inthe United States alone.

There are, of course, many workable solutions to this problem providedthe size of the installation and the income derived therefrom willjustify their cost. Unfortunately, the great majority of suchinstallations include only a half dozen machines or so and nothing thatis very sophisticated or expensive in the way of protective devices canbe justified economically. The prior art attempts to solve this problemsimply and inexpensively have only met with moderate success and itseems that in a matter of weeks following the introduction of some newprotective device, the criminal element has found a way to render itineffective. Noteworthy among the simpler and more practical solutionsto the problem of coin box thefts are those exemplified in the GreenwaldU.S. Pat. Nos. 3,334,50l, 3,444,712, and 3,494,159 along with the U.S.patent to Hall, U.S. Pat. No. 3,343,386, all of which are characterizedby a keyholeshaped opening in the guard, the narrower neck of which isaligned with the lock, but not the larger part through which the head ofthe key must pass. Such a keyhole in the guard together with a sectionof reduced diameter on the shank of the key cooperate with one anotherto produce an assembly wherein the key must be inserted axially inmisaligned relation to the lock, then moved laterally into the narrowneck of the keyhole-shaped slot in the shield before it can again bemoved axially on into operative engagement with the lock. Unfortunately,the same pick that will open the unprotected lock will, in mostinstances, open the protected one provided the thief makes the simplemodification of reducing the diameter of the shank of his pick tocorrespond with the narrow neck of the keyhole shaped slot in the guard.Admittedly, certain types of picks that require access to the head sothat its actuating members can be set in conformity with the tumblers ofthe lock being picked become somewhat more difficult, if not evenimpossible, to use but this is by no means true of all such picks,several of which work just as well as if the lock were left unprotected.All of these prior art protective shields have one thing in common,namely, a protective shield that requires the operator to shift the keyfrom an axially-directed but misaligned position to a coaxial positionbefore the lock can be actuated.

It has now been found in accordance with the teaching of the instantinvention that these and other limitations of the prior art coin boxprotective devices can, in large measure, be eliminated by the simple,yet unobvious, expedient of eliminating all axial access to the lock,both coaxial and offset, in favor of remotely located right angleaccess. A specially designed key with a right angle drive operable froma remote location outside the protective shield is used. The shieldhides the lock as well as any pick being used to open same to a degreewhere it would be most difficult to observe it to say nothing of settingits tumbler actuating elements with no axial access thereto.Additionally, a push-pin connected to a pivotally mounted actuatinglever carried by the key and accessible from outside the protectivecover or shield coacts with the wall of the latter facing the key slotto bias the key axially into operative engagement with the lock.

It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention toprovide a novel and improved protective cover and associated key for useto prevent theft from vending machine coin boxes.

A second objective of the invention herein disclosed and claimed is toprovide a device of the type aforementioned that is readily adaptable toexisting coin boxes.

Another object of the within-described invention is to provide a coinbox lock cover with a remote rightangled key access opening therein thateffectively hides the key slot so that the lock becomes quite difficultto pick.

Still another objective is the provision of a special remotely operatedkey with a simple right angle drive that does not adapt itself well topatterning a pick thereafter.

An additional object is to provide a lever-actuated push-pin carried bythe key which is operative upon remote actuation while inside theprotective cover to engage any abutment forming wall of the latter so asto bias the head of said key into meshed engagement with the lock.

Further objects of the invention herein disclosed and claimed are toprovide an essentially theft proof protective mechanism for coin boxlocks that is simple yet effective, inexpensive, rugged, safe, compact,versatile and one that is readily adaptable to various types and stylesof both keys and locks.

Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed outspecifically hereinafter in connection with the description of thedrawings that follows, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view looking down and to the right upon astandard lockable coin box shown equipped with the protective covers ofthe present invention and with the novel key used therewith in place toopen same;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view from the same vantage point as FIG. 1 andto the same scale as the latter showing the key alone;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view to the same scale as FIGS. 1 and 2 butshowing the key from a vantage point above and to the left of its rearrather than its front face;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view to the same scale as FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 takenfrom the same vantage point as the latter Figure showing a modified formof key having a rotatable notched blade-type head as contrasted with therotatable tubular head of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view similar to FIG. 1 and to thesame scale as the latter revealing the protective cover broken away andshown in section to expose the coin box without the key in place;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary left side elevation to a slightly enlarged scaleshowing the protective cover over the lock and key housed in the latter,the handle of the key having been removed to reveal the shank insection;

FIG. 7 is a front elevation to the same scale as FIG. 6 showing only thekey and protective cover with portions of the latter along with the keycase having been broken away to expose the interior construction;

FIG. 8 is a horizontal section to an enlarged scale taken along line 88of FIG. 7; and,

FIG. 9 is a horizontal section to the same scale as FIG. 8 taken alongline 9-9 of FIG. 7.

Referring next to the drawings for a detailed description of the presentinvention and, initially, to FIG. 1 for this purpose, reference numeral10 has been chosen to designate in a general way one type of standardcoin box having a key lock 12 in the face of drawer l4 operative uponactuation to extend and retract ears 16 which lock the drawer into asuitable cavity (not shown) in the vending machine or the like. Theparticular lock I2 illustrated, is of conventional design and has acircular keyway 18 that accepts a tubular key 20 having axially-directedslots 22 in the surface thereof for actuating the tumblers (not shown).The invention is, of course, by no means limited to this type of lockand key therefor, the one shown being intended as only illustrative ofone type thereof that can be used. In fact, FIG. 4 illustrates amodified form of the invention in which a bladed key 20m has beensubstituted for the tubular one shown in the remaining figures.

The guard subassembly has been indicated in a general way by referencenumeral 24 and it has been most clearly illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5-9,inclusive, to which detailed reference will now be made. Alongside thelock 12 fastened permanently to the face of the drawer is mounted anL-shaped bracket 26. The forwardly extending flange 28 of this bracketdefines an end wall closing one end of tunnel-forming member 30.

In the particular form illustrated, tunnel-forming member 30 is abox-like member having a rectangular cross section defined by top wall32, bottom wall 34, inside wall 36 and outside wall 38. All walls of theboxlike tunnel forming member together with wall 28 of the bracketclosing one end of the latter are all fabricated from hardened steel ofthe type which is most difficult to drill, bend, puncture or otherwisedeform to gain direct access to the lock. The rear wall 36 extends fromits attached edge parallel to the front of the drawer across the face ofthe lock and it includes an opening 40 therethrough providingdirect-axial access to the latter. The portion of inside tunnel wallremote from the edge thereof fastened to bracket 26 is permanentlysecured to the face of the drawer by suitable hardened steel fasteners42.

As thus constructed, the guard subassembly 24 defines a blind tunnel,the only opening into which 44 is not only displaced laterally well toone side of lock 12 but, in addition, opens at right angles to thelatter. In addition, the size of the tunnel thus formed is entirely toosmall to receive the hand and key, yet alone to actuate the latter.Furthermore, one is denied even a direct look at the lock or, for thatmatter, a lock pick designed in the manner of the key of the presentinvention, for the purpose of gaining unauthorized access to the coindrawer. Most picks, of course, require both a delicate touch" to feelthe lock tumblers as well as a close inspection of the pins or otherappurtenances carried by the pick for the purpose of actuating thelatter.

Next, with particular reference to all but FIG. 5 of the drawings, thesubassembly designated broadly by reference numeral 46 which is used toactuate the lock will be set forth in detail. Such subassembly is madeup of several parts, among which is an elongate housing 48 inside ofwhich is mounted the right-angle drive mechanism 50 for the key 20.While housing 48 may take other forms than that shown, the elongatebox-like configuration closed at both ends is as good as any and betterthan most others.

The right-angle key drive 50 comprises a shaft 52 journalled forrotation longitudinally of the housing within its endplates 54. Shaft,collars 56 on the shaft bracket the outboard endplate S2 in thecustomary manner to prevent its moving axially. The outboard end ofshaft 52 projects outside the housing and is fitted with a handle 58 orother suitable appurtenance for rotating same.

The inside wall 60 of the housing has an opening 62 therein (FIGS. 3, 4and 8) within'which the key 20 rotates. This key-receiving opening 62 isso located that it assumes a coaxial relationship with the keyway 18 inthe lock 12 when the housing 48 is inserted all the way into the tunnelso that its inboard endplate shuts flange 28 of the bracket and its topand bottom walls 64 and 66, respectively, lie against the correspondingtunnel walls. An annular flange 68 encircles the inner end of the keyand rides against the inside of inner housing wall 60 to limit theoutward axial movement of the latter as shown in FIGS. 8 and9.Immediately adjacent this flange is positioned pinion 70 having astubshaft 72 depending therefrom that is journalled in bearing 74 in theoutside housing wall 76, all of which are most clearly shown in FIG. 8.Shaft 52 carries the worm 78 that meshes with the pinion 70 to completethe right angle key drive 50. The length of the housing 48 is such as toproject well beyond the open end of the tunnel where the handle 58 isreadily accessible. In fact, the housing 48 is preferably made extralong, nearly twice the length of the tunnel, to accommodate the keyinsertion linkage associated therewith that has been broadly referred toby numeral 80 and to which detailed reference will now be made.

Under some circumstances, since no direct frontal access to the lock isavailable due to the side opening guard 24 covering same, somedifficulty may be experienced in inserting the key 20 into the keywayalthough, once inserted, the right angle drive 50 makes it easy to meansfor assisting the user to insert the key would be of considerable helpand such a mechanism is the key insertion linkage 80. Well down insidethe housing 48, a tubular pin guide 82 is fastened in the outside wall76 and a push-pin 84 is mounted therein for reciprocating movement in adirection normal to the outside tunnel wall 30 when the lock actuatingsubassembly 46 is fully inserted into said tunnel as shown. A push-pinactuating lever 86 is pivotally attached intermediate its ends withinhousing 48 on a vertically disposed pivot pin 88 located betweenpush-pin 84 and outboard end wall 54. A horizontally disposed slot 90 isprovided in the inside wall 60 of the housing to receive the inner endof the lever 88 attached to pin 84 by link 92 while the outer end ofsaid lever emerges into accessible position on the outside of thehousing through a similar slot 94 in the outside wall 76. Link 92 is notintended to take any actuating forces as the lever acts directly on thepin; therefore, the link serves merely as a means for preventing loss ofthe pin and other well known pin retainers could be substituted thereforwith no loss in functron.

With the key-actuating subassembly 46 retracted axially into itsdisengaged position shown in full lines in FIG. 9, the operator needonly squeese lever 86 toward the outside wall 76 of the housing,whereupon, it will rock on its pivot 88 and the inner end thereof willengage the push-pin 84 so as to extend it in a direction opposite tothat at which the key must move to engage the keyway. Once the pincontacts the inside surface of outer tunnel wall 30, which it doesalmost immediately, it will cooperate therewith and with lever 80 topush the key 20 forwardly into the keyway 18 as represented by brokenlines in FIG. 9 and full lines in FIG. 8; whereupon, the drive mechanism50 can be actuated to open the lock.

Finally, FIG. 4 merely shows a slightly modified form of lock actuatingsubassembly 46m having as its only change the substitution of a bladedkey 20m for the tubular one 20 of the other Figures.

What is claimed is:

l. Anti-probe apparatus for use with a lock of the type actuated byinsertion of a key into a keyway followed by rotation thereof whichcomprises in combination: guard means defining a tunnel having anopening in the side thereof intermediate its ends sized to provideaccess to the keyway when attached so as to register therewith and asecond opening at one end displaced to one side of said access openingand disposed at right angles thereto; and, lock-actuating meansincluding a housing insertable into said tunnel through the open endthereof, said housing being sized for relative transverse movementtherein between a retracted position remote from the access opening inthe side thereof and an extended position in close proximity to thelatter, a key operative to actuate the lock journalled for rotation inthe housing in position to enter the keyway upon relative transversemovement of said housing from its retracted into extended position,right angle drive means within said housing connected to said key andoperative upon actuation to rotate same, and actuating means accessiblethrough the open end ofthe tunnel operatively connected to said drivemeans.

2. The combination as set forth in claim I which includes a leverpivotally attached to the housing for rockable movement about an axisintermediate its ends, said lever having one end thereof accessibleoutside the end of the tunnel and its other end terminating inside thelatter on the opposite side of the housing from the key, and saidaccessible end being operative upon movement thereof in the direction inwhich the key enters the keyway to force its inner end against thetunnel wall facing the latter thus biasing the housing into its extendedposition.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which:

means defining an abutment effective to limit the degree of penetrationof the housing blocks the other end of the tunnel, said abutment-formingmeans and housing cooperating with one another upon insertion of thelatter to position the key opposite the keyway.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which: both the tunnel andhousing are of rectangular cross section with the latter beingdimensioned to telescope into the former so as to permit relativetransverse movement in the direction of key movement into the keywaywhile preventing essentially all relative transverse movement in adirection normal to the latter.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which: the guard means isopaque and shaped to permit only limited oblique visual access to thekeyway.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which: the right angledrive means comprises a worm and pinion gear train.

7. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which: wall means definesa closure for the other end of the tunnel effective to deny bothphysical and visual access thereto.

8. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which: the interiordimensions of the tunnel are selected such as to effectively deny directmanual access to the keyway of the nature required to insert and turn akey therein.

9. The combination as set forth in claim 2 in which: the lever ispivoted inside the housing, a push-pin is mounted within the wall of thehousing remote from the lock for reciprocating movement from a retractedposition into an extended position engaging said tunnel wall facing thelatter, and in which the inner end of the lever becomes operative uponactuation of the accessible end thereof to engage the pin and extendsame.

10. The combination as set forth in claim 6 in which: a shaft isjournalled for rotation in the housing about an axis normal to the axisof key rotation displaced to one side thereof, the worm is mounted onsaid shaft for conjoint rotation therewith, the pinion is mounted on thekey in meshed engagement with the pinion, and the actuating means isoperatively attached to the end of the shaft accessible through the openend of the tunnel.

11. The subcombination of a guard for use as a protective cover over akeyway in a key lock forming an integral part of a structure to beprotected which comprises: a tubular member permanently attached to thestructure to be protected in position covering the keyway, said memberdefining a tunnel having an opening in the side thereof intermediate itsends registering with said keyway and provide access thereto and asecond opening at one end thereof displaced to one side of said accessopening and disposed at right angles thereto.

12. The subcombination as set forth in claim ll in which: the guardmeans is opaque and shaped to permit only limited oblique visual accessto the keyway.

13. The subcombination as set forth in claim 11 in which: wall meansdefines a closure for the other end of the tunnel effective to deny bothphysical and visual access thereto.

14. The subcombination as set forth in claim 11 in which: the interiordimensions of the tunnel are selected such as to effectively deny directmanual access to the keyway of the nature required to insert and turn akey therein.

15. The subcombination of a lock-actuating mechanism for use with a keylock guarded by a protective cover defining a side-opening tunnelproviding the only access thereto throughan entryway displaced to oneside of the keyway which comprises: a housing insertable into saidtunnel through the entryway thereto, said housing being sized forrelative transverse movement therein between a retracted position remotefrom the access opening in the side thereof and an extended position inclose proximity to the latter, a key operative to actuate the lockjournalled for rotation in the housing in position to enter the keywayupon relative transverse movement of said housing from its retractedinto extended position, right angle drive means within said housingconnected to said key and operative upon actuation to rotate same, andactuating means accessible through the entryway into said tunneloperatively connected to said drive means.

16. The subcombination as set forth in claim 15 which includes: a leverpivotally attached to the housing for rockable movement about an axisintermediate its ends, said lever having one end thereof accessibleoutside the end of the tunnel and its other end terminating inside thelatter on the opposite side of the housing from the key, and saidaccessible end being operative upon movement thereof in the direction inwhich the key enters the keyway to force its inner end against thetunnel wall facing the latter thus biasing the housing into its extendedposition.

17. The subcombination as set forth in claim 15 in which: the rightangle drive means comprises a worm and pinion gear train.

18. The subcombination as set forth in claim 16 in which: the lever ispivoted inside the housing, a pushpin is mounted within the wall of thehousing remote from the lock for reciprocating movement from a retractedposition into an extended position engaging said tunnel wall facing thelatter, and in which the inner end of the lever becomes operative uponactuation of the accessible end thereof to engage the pin and extendsame.

19. The subcombination as set forth in claim 17 in which: a shaft isjoumalled for rotation in the housing about an axis normal to the axisof key rotation displaced to one side thereof, the worm is mounted onsaid shaft for conjoint rotation therewith, the pinion is mounted on thekey in meshed engagement with the pinion, and the actuating means isoperatively attached to the end of the shaft accessible through the openend of the tunnel.

1. Anti-probe apparatus for use with a lock of the type actuated byinsertion of a key into a keyway followed by rotation thereof whichcomprises in combination: guard means defining a tunnel having anopening in the side thereof intermediate its ends sized to provideaccess to the keyway when attached so as to register therewith and asecond opening at one end displaced to one side of said access openingand disposed at right angles thereto; and, lock-actuating meansincluding a housing insertable into said tunnel through the open endthereof, said housing being sized for relative transverse movementtherein between a retracted position remote from the access opening inthe side thereof and an extended position in close proximity to thelatter, a key operative to actuate the lock journalled for rotation inthe housing in position to enter the keyway upon relative transversemovement of said housing from its retracted into extended position,right angle drive means within said housing connected to said key andoperative upon actuation to rotate same, and actuating means accessiblethrough the open end of the tunnel operatively connected to said drivemeans.
 2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 which includes a leverpivotally attached to the housing for rockable movement about an axisintermediate its ends, said lever having one end thereof accessibleoutside the end of the tunnel and its other end terminating inside thelatter on the opposite side of the housing from the key, and saidaccessible end being operative upon movement thereof in the direction inwhich the key enters the keyway to force its inner end against thetunnel wall facing the latter thus biasing the housing into its extendedposition.
 3. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which: meansdefining an abutment effective to limit the degree of penetration of thehousing blocks the other end of the tunnel, said abutment-forming meansand housing cooperating with one another upon insertion of the latter toposition the key opposite the keyway.
 4. The combination as set forth inclaim 1 in which: both the tunnel and housing are of rectangular crosssection with the latter being dimensioned to telescope into the formerso as to permit relative transverse movement in the direction of keymovement into the keyway while preventing essentially all relativetransverse movement in a direction normal to the latter.
 5. Thecombination as set forth in claim 1 in which: the guard means is opaqueand shaped to permit only limited oblique visual access to the keyway.6. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which: the right angledrive means comprises a worm and pinion gear train.
 7. The combinationas set forth in claim 1 in which: wall means defines a closure for theother end of the tunnel effective to deny both physical and visualaccess thereto.
 8. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which: theinterior dimensions of the tunnel are selected such as to effectivelydeny direct manual access to the keyway of the nature required to insertand turn a key therein.
 9. The combination as set forth in claim 2 inwhich: the lever is pivoted inside the housing, a push-pin is mountedwithin the wall of the housing remote from the lock for reciprocatingmovement from a retracted position into an extended position engagingsaid tunnel wall facing the latter, and in which the inner end of thelever becomes operative upon actuation of the accessible end thereof toengage the pin and extend same.
 10. The combination as set forth inclaim 6 in which: a shaft is journalled for rotation in the housingabout an axis normal to the axis of key rotation displaced to one sidethereof, the worm is mounted on said shaft for conjoint rotationtherewith, the pinion is mounted on the key in meshed engagement withthe pinion, and the actuating means is operatively attached to the endof the shaft accessible through the open end of the tunnel.
 11. Thesubcombination of a guard for use as a protective cover over a keyway ina key lock forming an integral part of a structure to be protected whichcomprises: a tubular member permanently attached to the structure to beprotected in position covering the keyway, said member defining a tunnelhaving an opening in the side thereof intermediate its ends registeringwith said keyway and provide access thereto and a second opening at oneend thereof displaced to one side of said access opening and disposed atright angles thereto.
 12. The subcombination as set forth in claim 11 inwhich: the guard means is opaque and shaped to permit only limitedoblique visual access to the keyway.
 13. The subcombination as set forthin claim 11 in which: wall means defines a closure for the other end ofthe tunnel effective to deny both physical and visual access thereto.14. The subcombination as set forth in claim 11 in which: the interiordimensions of the tunnel are selected such as to effectively deny directmanual access to the keyway of the nature required to insert and turn akey therein.
 15. The subcombination of a lock-actuating mechanism foruse with a key lock guarded by a protective cover defining aside-opening tunnel providing the only access thereto through anentryway displaced to one side of the keyway which comprises: a housinginsertable into said tunnel through the entryway thereto, said housingbeing sized for relative transverse movement therein between a retractedposition remote from the access opening in the side thereof and anextended position in close proximity to the latter, a key operative toactuate the lock journalled for rotation in the housing in position toenter the keyway upon relative transverse movement of said housing fromits retracted into extended position, right angle drive means withinsaid housing connected to said key and operative upon actuation torotate same, and actuating means accessible through the entryway intosaid tunnel operatively connected to said drive means.
 16. Thesubcombination as set forth in claim 15 which includes: a leverpivotally attached to the housing for rockable movement about an axisintermediate its ends, said lever having one end thereof accessibleoutside the end of the tunnel and its other end terminating inside thelatter on the opposite side of the housing from the key, and saidaccessible end being operative upon movement thereof in the direction inwhich the key enters the keyway to force its inner end against thetunnel wall facing the latter thus biasing the housing into its extendedposition.
 17. The subcombination as set forth in claim 15 in which: theright angle drive means comprises a worm and pinion gear train.
 18. Thesubcombination as set forth in claim 16 in which: the lever is pivotedinside the housing, a push-pin is mounted within the wall of the housingremote from the lock for reciprocating movement from a retractedposition into an extended position engaging said tunnel wall facing thelatter, and in which the inner end of the lever becomes operative uponactuation of the accessible end thereof to engage The pin and extendsame.
 19. The subcombination as set forth in claim 17 in which: a shaftis journalled for rotation in the housing about an axis normal to theaxis of key rotation displaced to one side thereof, the worm is mountedon said shaft for conjoint rotation therewith, the pinion is mounted onthe key in meshed engagement with the pinion, and the actuating means isoperatively attached to the end of the shaft accessible through the openend of the tunnel.